When we think of landscape in art, we tend to think of majestic mountains, glorious lakes and more traditionally beautiful natural sights.
The Louis Vuitton Singapore Landscape Memories exhibition however, features landscapes, in a metaphorical sense — physical spaces become symbolic of our memories, emotions and how we think and perceive of the world around us.
Close-up of Déjà vu by Jane Lee. ALL PHOTOS: Louis Vuitton Singapore
Open from now until September 30, 2013, at Espace Louis Vuitton, the Landscape Memories exhibition features the works of Singapore artists Donna Ong, Genevieve Chua, Jane Lee and Ng Joon Kiat. It is also the first exhibition solely dedicated to Singapore art at this Louis Vuitton art space.
Déjà vu by Jane Lee
From afar, you could be kidded into thinking that Jane Lee’s Déjà vu is made of fabric. In fact, her artwork is made of layers and layers of dried acrylic paint, appearing like a disintegrating patchwork of memories that we collect, collate, half-remember and sometimes forget.
Landscape Portraits (In a Beautiful Place Nearby) by Donna Ong
Donna Ong’s “Landscape Portraits (In a Beautiful Place Nearby)” installation, wanders into the realms of dreams and imagination, as she pictures a vision of the coral in the Red Sea.
At first sight, it’s hard to draw the link between coral reefs and the “spiky” balls of this installation, that the artist has made out of metal objects like pins, needles, bells and hooks.
“Landscape Portraits (In a Beautiful Place Nearby)” by Donna Ong
The inspiration becomes immediately apparent however, when you watch a video of the same spherical structures, rearranged to look like the beautiful coral of the sea.
She was here before No.3 by Genevieve Chua
While artist Genevieve Chua features actual landscapes like the forested areas of western Singapore and Mount Fuji, she teases out our fear of the unknown by making these more than just visual representations of the actual places.
Nocturne Series by Genevieve Chua
In the She Was Here Before series, the forest looks almost barren and dead; while in the Nocturne Series, Chua makes the colour-changing ability of the Hibiscus mutabilis much more vivid; the petals of this flower are white during the day, before gradually darkening to pink by nightfall.
Green Series: Nature, Borders, Space by Ng Joon Kiat
Ng Joon Kiat has created a series of “tactile” paintings, featuring the uneven grooves and contours of mountains, seas and land masses, as seen from an aerial view.
His works, in a sense, are maps of the mind — the arbitrary, artificial boundaries that we make and unmake, to separate the lands and seas that we deem ours from that of another nation.
Green Series Nature Borders Space 03 by Ng Joon Kiat
If you’re in for a thought-provoking afternoon, be sure to make a visit to this art space, and discover a different type of “landscape art”.
Espace Louis Vuitton Singapore presents Landscape Memories exhibition
Date and Time: April 25 to September 30, 2013, from 10am to 11pm (Sundays to Thursdays) and 10am to 12am (Fridays to Saturdays)
Venue: Louis Vuitton Island Maison, Marina Bay Sands
Prices: Admission is free
